A partnership to research and develop novel immune modulating therapies for the potential treatment of celiac disease has been announced. “A collaboration between Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited and Cour Pharmaceutical Development Company, Inc. will focus on using nanotechnologies based on Cour’s Tolerizing Immune Modifying nanoParticle (TIMP) platform, which can be extended to certain autoimmune and allergic conditions by inhibiting the abnormal immune responses that cause disease, without affecting the beneficial parts of the immune system.” Business Wire, December 7, 2015

“As a global leader in gastroenterology, Takeda is committed to the discovery and development of treatments and products to improve the health of patients with gastrointestinal disorders”

“The collaboration will explore the potential of TIMP therapy to allow celiac patients to tolerate gluten in their diet. The TIMPs, developed in cooperation with Northwestern University researchers, consist of a proprietary polymer and antigenic proteins, which are fully encapsulated for safety and administered intravenously. The TIMP compounds target the underlying cause of celiac disease by systemically targeting and controlling, gluten-reactive T-cells in patients, as opposed to broad immunosuppression.”

TheTIMP platform is already being explored as a way to deliver therapies in MS patients that make immune cells tolerant of specific antigens. “These “tolerance-directed” immunotherapies could eventually provide a safe, cost-effective, and highly efficient alternative to current approaches to MS treatments that suppress the immune system and inevitably lead to patients becoming more susceptible to infections, cancer, and other disorders,” according to Stephan D. Miller, PhD, Judy Guggenheim Research Professor of Microbiology-Immunology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois.

Dr. Miller is cofounder and member of COUR PharmaceuticalDevelopment Company Inc, a nanobiotechnology company focused on the development of novel immune therapies using nanotechnologies based on the Immune Modifying nanoParticle (IMP) platform. The IMP particles are derived from Food and Drug Administration–approved, biodegradable polymer poly(lactic-co-glycolic-acid) that, when modified and built using proprietary IMPtechnology, provide therapeutic relief in numerous inflammatory conditions. He offered the opening lecture of 6th Cooperative Meeting of the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers (CMSC) and the Americas Committee for Treatment and Research In Multiple Sclerosis (ACTRIMS), May 28, 2014.

As Dr. Miller explained, “targeted tolerance-directed immunotherapies intervene in the autoimmune response, affecting only the pathogenic autoreactive T cells that react to a specific antigen. Such therapies reset those particular cells to actually avoid an immune response, rather than suppressing a response.”

“In the future, such new therapies may allow clinicians to shut down the underlying disease process instead of just controlling MS symptoms, said Dr. Miller, who has more than 30 years of experience in the field of autoimmune research.” See Tolerance-Directed Immunotherapy: Future of MS Treatment.

Dr. Gareth Hicks, head of Takeda’s Gastroenterology Drug Discovery Unit shared, “In line with our GI drug discovery unit’s focus on building partnerships with groups developing highly novel therapeutic approaches to the treatment of GI diseases, we are excited to initiate this significant collaboration with Cour to create potential new and innovative therapies to meet the substantially unmet needs of these patients.”

“Cour is very pleased to be partnering with Takeda, and our collaboration marks an important breakthrough in the development of therapies for patients suffering from celiac disease,” said John J. Puisis, CEO and co-founder of Cour. “Takeda is the ideal partner based on the company’s strong foundation in gastroenterology and expertise in the discovery and development of therapies meeting unmet needs in patients suffering from gastrointestinal diseases.”

About Cour Pharmaceutical Development Company Cour is a private development stage company harnessing the power of nano-biotechnology to create novel therapeutics addressing difficult to treat immune diseases. Cour combines world-recognized leadership in immunology, bioengineering, and pharmaceuticals to address significant unmet medical needs in autoimmune, allergy and inflammatory disease. Cour’s Tolerizing Immune Modifying nanoParticle (TIMP) platform creates a unique opportunity to address difficult to treat diseases such as celiac disease and food allergies. The TIMP platform is the result of a partnership between Cour and Northwestern University, where Cour, Dr. Stephen Miller, and Dr. Lonnie Shea combined their respective expertise in immunology and material science to create this pioneering new technology. Additional information about Cour is available through its corporate website, www.courpharma.com

About Takeda Located in Osaka, Japan, Takeda (TOKYO:4502) is a research-based global company with its main focus on pharmaceuticals. As the largest pharmaceutical company in Japan and one of the global leaders of the industry, Takeda is committed to strive towards better health for people worldwide through leading innovation in medicine.

Additional information about Takeda is available through its corporate website, www.takeda.com.

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